


You Knew It Was Me

by bluesunflower44



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Badass Katara (Avatar), Eventual Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Eventual Romance, F/M, Minor Mai/Mystery Character, Minor Sokka/Suki, Mystery, NOT your typical arranged marriage tropes, POV Katara (Avatar), Slow Burn, Some Humor, Stubborn Katara (Avatar), Suspense, Zuko (Avatar) is Bad at Feelings, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, but still third person, katara & SWT are actually doing the FN a favor, zuko is everything, zutara arranged marriage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:28:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29488284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluesunflower44/pseuds/bluesunflower44
Summary: Katara is fighting for her identity, rights, and love in a hostile nation. She learns about her past and future through moments that tear apart everything she's ever known.Or, Katara and Zuko's destinies are inextricably intertwined, and not just because of the impending marriage they have been roped into.Latest chapter:“So you’re from the Earth Kingdom? What’s your name?”“Um, yeah. I’m Lee.”She noticed a jump in his heart rate, but what reason could he have to lie about his name? She marked it up to the adrenaline of beating up three men and stepped closer to him.“Well then, Lee. I’m...Kya.”
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 58





	1. teraphobia

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything else you recognize.

Gran Gran. _Keep your back straight and your chin up. Walk like you know your worth and no one will dare to cross you._

Her father. _You are the strength of our tribe, our family, and my heart. Be strong for yourself now._

Sokka. _Remember, they need this more than we do. You're the one with the power here. Well, you always have the power with your magic water but you know what I mean. Stay safe._

Her mother. _I love you, Katara._

The people she loved were with her, always. From their words of affection and support, she constructed an indestructible armor for herself. Her waterskin, ready to be uncorked at the first sign of any funny business, was a comforting presence resting snugly against her hip. She remembered her own words to her waterbending teacher from years ago ( _you can't knock me down!_ ) and held them on her tongue, as she stepped down from the palanquin.

In one second, she took in all her surroundings. The tiny fountain with trickling water ( _just enough to make one whip_ ) surrounded by shrubbery, the impassive guards, the curious onlookers, the clean pathway that would lead her to the front door of her final destination. The Royal Palace of the Fire Nation. With its harsh red, gold, and black paint and towering height, it looked as though it was designed with the sole purpose of intimidating visitors. From what everyone knew of the Fire Nation, that assumption probably wasn't too far from the truth. Katara's appraisal was interrupted by a guard clearing his throat right next to her ear. She turned her head just a few degrees in his direction to see him gesture at the black walkway in front of her. Rolling her eyes, she strode forward, radiating confidence, even though her bones felt like they were made of the heaviest stone. She would not give these obnoxious men the pleasure of seeing her cowed by their attitudes. Starting from this moment, she would set the precedent that she was not going to be a fur rug that they could walk over.

She slowed for a brief moment, realizing she had forgotten all her belongings in the palanquin, but a well-timed rustle from behind told her the guards had taken care of it. She lifted her chin a little higher and picked up the pace. The fierce waterbender would face this new problem head-on, just as she always had. For that's what all this was after all - another problem, another nuisance. She was sure there were simpering girls in the Fire Nation who would call it a miracle, but Katara was happy to not count herself amongst them. Everyone knew the Fire Lord was a menace, raised in a family of psychopaths and murderers and molded into the perfect tyrant. Granted, she hadn't gotten much of a chance to actually study his domestic policies, but she was sure they wouldn't negate the words she had heard from pretty much everyone. To be engaged to the Fire Lord was a divine punishment of the worst kind and somehow, Katara had earned it. Any attempt, and there had been many, to evade her impending engagement was thwarted. She held a lot of disdain and contempt for this arrangement; whenever she had dreamed of the world knowing her name, she had not thought it would be as the wife of a monster. She would be lying if she said she wasn't a little scared, but she knew she was safe for the most part because as Sokka had said many times, the Fire Nation did need this more than the Southern Water Tribe.

After the conclusion of the Fifty Years' War, in which Avatar Aang had given up his life to defeat Fire Lord Azulon, Fire Lord Ozai had taken the throne through some political maneuver. She didn't really have the details, and to be honest, that was okay with her. She could do without what was probably just extra gore. Long story short, the current monarch was Fire Lord Zuko, who had ( _allegedly; no one would tell her for certain_ ) killed his father and sister out of a lust for power. For some reason, the Fire Lord was interested in putting up a facade of goodwill toward the other nations and he had come to the conclusion that the best way to cement this image was to marry someone from outside the Fire Nation. As the only daughter of a political leader who was both of age and single, Katara was the obvious choice. And so she was here, in the heart of the nation that had killed her mother and her kin at the Northern Water Tribe in fits of fanaticism, standing outside the golden doors of the Royal Palace.

As the guards slowly pushed the doors open, she got her first view of what would be her new house. Her first thought was that 'house' was a very limiting word for this monstrosity of a building. The main entrance opened into an enormous foyer, lined with gaudy paintings and flaming torches. Taking her first steps across the threshold, she observed that three corridors were branching off from the foyer. The one directly ahead of her was closed off by doors just like the ones she had just walked through and likely led to the main room where the Fire Lord made all his antagonistic laws and policies. To her right, the corridor was bustling with servants who carried bedsheets and mattresses. _That must lead to the bedrooms then, and to the left...I can't really tell, but there's a lot of natural light. Maybe the gardens?_ She didn't have much time to think upon this, as the guards and soldiers began to march on both her left and right sides in a single-line fashion until they were lining the entire hallway leading up to what she had guessed was the central chamber. It felt eerily like she was being caged into this path, and she didn't like it one bit. The same guard who had non verbally told her to get a move on before was now standing at her side, putting his hand on her shoulder to move her forward. She shrugged it off as she took a wide step away from him and walked towards the second set of golden doors that were easing their way open.

The room behind them looked dark until she actually stepped inside. She saw a row of leaping flames in front of an elevated dais, on which the faint figure of a man sat. She squinted at him but Katara couldn't make out a thing - her eyes really weren't used to these warm colors and bright fires. She had never seen a portrait of her soon-to-be fiance before since Gran Gran had always dismissed it as bad luck ( _which didn't even make sense, honestly_ ), and even now, she had no idea what his face looked like. Suddenly, a booming voice from next to her announced her presence.

"My Lord, Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, daughter to esteemed Chief Hakoda and the late Chieftess Kya, has arrived."

The guard went into a deep bow with an open palm above a fist after his exclamation. Katara could have scoffed if she wasn't feeling so out of her element - she hoped no one was expecting her to bow because she didn't lower her head for anyone. Certainly not crazy murderers. The next second, a warm and rough hand was in the crook of her elbow, leading her out of the room she now noticed was furnished with nothing but maroon, and towards the corridor she had assumed hosted the bedrooms. Yet again, she shook the guard's hand off of her and sneered at how...quick and painless that had been. She had really expected a whole production to be made out of a 'Water Tribe peasant being in the presence of the magnificent Fire Lord', but the loser hadn't even said a word. Well, that suited her just fine. The less interaction, the better. As she followed the guard, she took note of all her surroundings again. Just in case. She had developed that habit a long while ago, when she had just started to travel the world with her brother, and it had always served her well in dangerous situations. She registered every source of water, every window she could crawl out of, every door she could pry open if need be. After about a minute of walking ( _why was this hallway so long?_ ), they abruptly stopped at a metallic door on the left side of the hallway, across from a small window through which only the trunk of a tree was visible, allowing for practically no natural light to fill this already dark and gloomy corridor. The guard leaned forward to push the door open and gestured at Katara to enter. She didn't. Out of nowhere, she felt overwhelming nausea. It felt like stepping across that threshold would mark her as someone who had given up, or property of the Fire Nation. It was irrational, she knew it was, but she did not want to step into that room. Stalling, she turned to the guard.

"How old is the Fire Lord?"

"22, Lady Katara."

Involuntarily, her eyebrows raised. Huh. For some reason, she had assumed that someone working for a political marriage must be 30 or older, and no one had ever bothered to dispel that idea. 22...that was only two years older than her! How had he racked up such a monstrous legacy in such a short time?

"Do you like working for him?"

"I am honored to be in the service of the gracious and honorable Fire Lord."

She pressed her lips together in distaste as her eyebrows dropped. There it was, the supremacist propaganda that these people were force-fed and regurgitated without thought. She held some sympathy, but mostly contempt, for the fact that this man had probably never had an original thought in his life, had never once questioned the barbaric ways of his home nation, he just was content to be some puppet of the 'gracious and honorable Fire Lord'. She also realized that the guard would probably not answer any more questions, and she really did have to enter the room now. Apprehensive, she stepped forward into what would likely just be a well-furnished prison cell.

Stepping into the room that was predictably covered in maroon and black, Katara was taken aback by just how large it was. It would take around forty of her longest strides to reach the other end of the room and the vaulted ceiling would not have been reached even by three Sokkas standing on each other's shoulders. There was only one window in the room, opposite the wall with the entrance, and it was currently covered by a velvet red cloth. To her right was a huge canopy bed, one that could comfortably fit her whole family, flanked by a black dresser on each side. To her left, there were two sets of double doors. Yanking open the ones closest to her, she saw enough clothes to outfit the entire Southern Water Tribe, and of course, they were all some shade of red, black, or gold. Goodness gracious, did these people not know other colors existed? If the guard who was still hovering at the threshold told her that they dyed their water sources red, she would believe it without hesitation. She moved on to the next set of doors which opened to reveal a tiled bathroom. She practically sprinted to the faucet to splash some water on her face and was very much relieved to see that it was the same refreshing blue she had always known. As she bent the water droplets away from her skin, she felt much more relaxed ( _although still wary, she would never let her guard down in this foreign land_ ) and her nausea disappeared instantly. Looking in the mirror, she noticed a bathtub as large as one of the skiffs her family would use behind her, and her eyes widened. She turned a little to see a toilet and a standing shower in the farthest corners of the bathroom. A shower _and_ a bathtub? Did all prisoners live this lavishly? Well, she wasn't really going to complain - the more water sources the better. She reluctantly left the bathroom to see the guard still standing at the door.

"Lady Katara, if you need anything or you find something that is not to your liking, please do not hesitate to let us know. We are happy to help in any capacity that we can. Dinner will be sent to your room in a few hours."

 _Nothing is to my liking_ , she wanted to say, but instead what came out was, "Dinner will be sent to my room? I don't have to, you know, eat with the Fire Lord or anything?"

"Not at all, Lady Katara. It was decided that you would feel more comfortable eating without new faces around you."

She cocked her head to the side. Decided? Decided by whom? People she had never met? The royal menace just probably thought she ate like a savage since that's what these people thought those dressed in blues and indigos were and didn't want to have her ruin his meal. Well, see if she cared! These people had gotten one thing right, she would rather not eat around their pompous faces.

"Okay then. Thank you for your help."

If the least she did in this Fire Nation was dispel people's assumptions about the Water Tribes, that would be good enough for her. She would show them manners, propriety, and grace. The guard bowed his head and closed the door as he left. Katara slowly walked over to the bed and sat down, starting to pick at the golden dragons embroidered on the dark red comforter. With a deep sigh, she began to contemplate everything she had seen today and what her plan from here on out would be. She may not be the great tactician her brother was ( _oh, she missed him so much it hurt_ ) but she could channel him pretty well, and she thought she was intelligent enough in her own right. The first thing she knew for sure was that she would have to stop thinking of herself as a prisoner. That would only serve to subconsciously undermine her own power here, especially because no one else was really treating her as a prisoner. Yet.

The waterbender was conflicted, however, about how she should act. Did she want to go along with this arrangement, sign away her life to a loveless marriage in a land home to people that had killed some of the people she loved most, and resign herself to rebelling in the tiniest of ways? She knew she didn't want to be seen as a trophy wife for the rest of her life. So maybe that meant she should do what she did best - dig her heels in. She didn't want to be surrounded by these strange men in a strange palace that belonged to a strange monarch; she missed her home, her family. She wanted to bide her time until she could see them again, until she could escape this ridiculous engagement. Maybe if she was uncooperative enough, they would see her as an unfit bride and let her go. Normally, that would be seen as a sign of great dishonor, but she didn't really think anyone would fault her for running away from the Fire Lord. She didn't know which pathway was best, but she was aware that she had to make a decision before it was made for her.

* * *

She was awoken from what she had thought would be a few minutes of shuteye by a rapping on the door. Cautiously, she walked towards it, hand outstretched and ready to wield any water vapor around her as a weapon. She nudged the door open with her free hand to see a maid holding a full platter. Oh right, dinner. She glanced back at the still-closed window to see that the little light filtering through was dusky. Opening the door all the way, she took a few steps back as the aroma hit her nose. That was definitely not her favorite stewed sea prunes, but she had to admit, it smelled appetizing. The maid walked to a table near the window and set the tray on it, unfolding the napkins and utensils, and pulling out the lone chair that was already there.

"What's your name?"

The maid's golden eyes widened and she squeaked, "My- Rai, Lady Katara!"

"Thank you, Rai."

Katara made her way to the table and sat down as Rai nodded furiously and nearly sprinted out of the room. She sat down and lifted the cover off the dish closest to her. Using her fork to poke around at the food, she realized it was some kind of meat, although not one she was familiar with. She raised a piece to her mouth but quickly put it down before even tasting it. She couldn't be careless in the Fire Nation! She bent some water out of the pitcher the maid had brought and surrounded the meat with it to seek out any poison. She had never tried this healing technique on food before, only on humans, but the concept was the same - just search for unknown liquids. She hadn't figured out a way to identify dry or powdered poisons with waterbending, but she had learned to identify different scents and herbs during her travels. Once she was satisfied that no one was poisoning her today, she dug into the meal with a vigor that would have made Sokka's jaw drop. She hadn't eaten all day and she really needed some sustenance if she was going to have to defend herself at a moment's notice. When she had finished the meat, she carefully opened the other dish that was on the tray. Spiced chocolate! She recognized that from her time in the Earth Kingdom. After running the poison check again and making sure no one was looking at her from the window, she slurped greedily at the chocolate and used her tongue to make sure not even a drop was left behind. Oh, it was as delicious as she remembered. So the firebenders had one redeeming quality - really good taste buds. She allowed herself to slouch in her chair, feeling too full to get up. After a few minutes, she carried the tray to her door and was about to drop it outside when she noticed guards standing on both sides of the door. Raising an eyebrow, she wondered why two people needed to keep watch outside her room.

"Can I help you two with something?"

The guards shook their heads.

"Then why are you standing there?"

"We are here for your protection, Lady Katara."

She wanted to laugh. Protection! More like to make sure she didn't run away in the middle of the night.

"Well, thanks. Can I leave my dishes out here?"

One of the guards nodded, so she placed the tray on the floor and quickly locked the door as soon as she was back in her room. Katara walked back to the large window and pushed aside the heavy drape. It gave her a view into a beautiful garden with towering trees and a tiny river running in between shrubbery and rock formations. She saw a family of turtleducks splashing around in a small pond and smiled. For the first time since entering this land so different from her own, she felt some semblance of serenity.

Before she knew it, the dusky light had been replaced by moonlight and the waterbender turned her head up to face the source of her powers. Yue, her best friend, was watching over her and that served to ease some tension in her mind. However, she found that this reassurance was not enough to make her feel completely comfortable, as Katara couldn't get a wink of sleep all night. She tossed and turned, removed and added pillows under her head, threw off some layers of the comforter, even went through some soothing waterbending forms, but nothing helped. Every time she laid down and closed her eyes, she would sit up seconds later with wide eyes scanning the room for some imaginary threat. She felt like a four-year-old about to beg her dad to get rid of the monster under her bed; the only difference being that no one was around to protect her now from a threat that truly existed. There was a monster in this palace, he did roam the halls, and he could easily hurt her. She rocked back and forth with her head in her hands, wishing her paranoia would go away, wishing she could sleep, but knowing that her fear was too great and too real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Thank you for reading! I am so excited about this project; I've been working on it for a while and I finally worked up the nerve to publish it. I promise this will not be like other arranged marriage fics you've probably read for this couple. This story will probably span close to 30 chapters, but we'll see where Katara takes us. Please review with your thoughts so I can improve!


	2. neophobia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything else you recognize.

After a night full of restless shifting around in her bed that was too different from the furs she missed so dearly, the sun was finally starting to rise and wipe out all the shadows that had looked so threatening hours ago, which meant that Katara finally felt comfortable enough to doze off. Unfortunately, it was not to be, because almost immediately after she closed her eyes, there was a sharp rapping on her door. Her eyes flew open, and with a pounding heart, she walked ( _staggered was more like it, in her state of fatigue_ ) to the door as the knocking resumed. She flung the door open and was almost immediately swarmed by six or seven women in simple dark red dresses. Before she could ask them what was going on, one of the maids - she seemed like the one in charge here - was taking her by the hand and leading her to the bathroom. What was with these people grabbing her all the time? She wrenched her hand out of the maid’s grip and demanded to know what was happening. As the maid turned to answer her question, she realized it was the lady from last night - Rai, she had called herself. Apparently, all of these seven women had been appointed to take care of the future Fire Lady and were well-prepared to follow through with this prestigious task. Rai apologized for having startled her, but they had assumed that she already knew.

“What is there for me to already know? Is something happening today?”

“Of course, Lady Katara! Your lessons begin today in just an hour, and you have yet to eat breakfast or get dressed,” answered another maid.

“Oh, thanks...what’s your name?”

“Lina, Lady Katara.”

“Thank you, Lina. Please, all of you, don’t call me Lady Katara - I’m not a Fire Nation Lady. And what exactly are these lessons for?”

“They are lessons with the Lady Mai, so that you may learn how to be a Fire Nation Lady. What title would you prefer until you are a Lady...Miss Katara?”

“Katara is fine,” but seeing Rai’s raised eyebrow she went on hastily, “but if you must use a title, Master or Sifu is okay too.” Back to the bigger issue, lessons on how to be a Fire Nation lady? That was just code for ‘learn to sit back, watch, and laugh as your husband murders people, annihilates civilizations, and destroys lifestyles.’ She had no interest in becoming one of these prissy women, no thank you! She was Water Tribe, Southern Water Tribe, through and through, and if they thought they could just train that out of her like she was some circus animal, they had another thing coming to them. She was yanked back to the situation at hand as one of the maids tugged at her wrap.

“What are you doing?”

“You must take a shower, Master Katara. We are here to help you.” The waterbender took a step back, alarmed. Help her take a shower? That was something they had done for Princess Yue because she was royalty. Katara’s dad may have been the Chief of their village and unofficial leader of the entire Southern Water Tribe, but she was by no means royalty. More importantly, she had always been independent. Especially when it came to things like bathing, which she had been doing on her own since she was six.

“I’m - I appreciate your help, but I know how to take a shower. I don’t really need assistance.”

“Master Katara, we are here to be your maids and help you with all your tasks. Please do not make this difficult for us.” Rai had a stern voice, so different from the squeaking way she had been speaking last night that it made Katara’s eyes widen. While she certainly felt sympathy for these women that were probably used to cruel people ordering them around, she would not give up on her independence. 

“I’m sorry, Rai, but I need to keep my dignity. I really don’t want you guys to help me shower. Maybe...maybe you guys could help me choose clothes to wear for the day? I have no idea what is appropriate or how to wear it.” Most of the girls nodded eagerly - they probably found it equally degrading to wash other people - and rushed outside to, presumably, the wardrobe. Rai, the last to leave, gave her a short nod and slowly followed the rest of the maids while telling Katara to shout if she needed anything. As Katara took a short, refreshing shower using soaps that, interestingly enough, smelled like water lilies and started getting dressed with the help of the maids, she learned about their names, ages, families, and anything else they wanted to share. Besides Rai and Lina, there was Meng, Aisa, Lin, Sama, and Alezi. Rai and Aisa were married with children, the rest were still young girls closer to Katara’s age. By the time their conversation dwindled, Katara was much more at ease with the people who would be with her often, and she was dressed in a loose-fitting maroon tunic and harem pants that were lined with gold. The material of the clothes was extremely thin compared to the parkas she was used to, and she almost felt naked, despite the outfit itself being very modest. She had also reached a compromise with Rai stating that they could help her with getting dressed and showing her around the palace, and if she really needed it, her hair and makeup, but nothing else, unless she specifically asked for help. As two of the maids who had left earlier rushed back in, carrying her breakfast, she decided it was time to make a plan. Escape this arrangement or see it through?

Water - the element of change and community. A powerful force, but could quickly adapt to twist the opponent’s weakness against them. She could wipe everything out if she so desired, but it was always more prudent to watch things play out, look for openings and weaknesses, and use them against her enemy. She would have to remember that. She knew before she had even gotten on the ship sailing away from home that she would have a lot of adjusting to do. The Fire Nation was the opposite of the Water Tribes in every way that mattered to her, but she could change as swiftly as the currents. She had to adapt to her new environment, but just as rivers found their way to flow no matter what, she would have to be careful to not lose the most important parts of her identity. Things like maids and servants, she could easily adapt to. Things like lessons on how to be a prissy Fire Nation Lady and being subservient to her future fiance, she might have to be more stubborn towards. She thought of her father’s reaction if she went home right away. He would be concerned that the Fire Nation would retaliate and disappointed that Katara would do something akin to giving up. And everyone knew that Katara never gave up. So she knew what she had to do. She would stay here, represent her home well, be strong...unless a clear way out arose, then she would take it immediately.

Now that she had some semblance of a plan on how to act, she felt more at ease than she had last night. Katara dug into her meal and since it was more food she only vaguely recognized, she asked Aisa what it was.

“Master Katara, in front of you there is bread and wilderberry jam. And for you to drink, there is mango juice. Is it not to your taste?”

“Aisa, this is delicious! I want this every morning!” Katara responded with a full mouth. They had bread in the South Pole, but the yeast took so long to rise that it was a rarity, and the Earth Kingdom had a very different idea of what constituted bread. And wilderberries and mangoes were totally new to her, but they were so good.

Aisa looked amused and responded, “Yes, Master Katara. We’ll also bring you different jams, as there are many flavors in the Fire Nation.” All the waterbender could do was nod, despite the fact that she knew she was acting too much like Sokka at any meal. She was supposed to show propriety but surely, none of these kind girls would judge her if she licked the jam off her fingers. When she was finally done, she wiped her mouth and hands with the napkin, downed the rest of her juice in one big gulp, and stood up. Rai was looking at her with pursed lips - oh no, had she noticed her lack of manners?

“Master Katara, I’m sorry to disturb you but we really must leave now. We should not keep Lady Mai waiting.” Katara wanted to roll her eyes, but with a great deal of restraint, just nodded at Rai and followed her out the door. They took a left and walked towards a staircase at the end of the hallway filled with bedrooms. As they began to climb, Katara now found herself very grateful that she was wearing this airy tunic and pants rather than her parka, as it was very, very humid. Humidity was not without its perks though; it meant more water that she could grab out of the air if needed. _Yes, good, Katara, keep finding the bright side. You can do this._ On the second floor of the palace, the two women walked straight ahead until they reached a simple metal door, similar to her bedroom door. She looked over Rai’s head at a pair of golden double doors just a few steps to the left and wondered aloud where they led.

Without looking away from the locked metal door, Rai replied, “That is the library, Master Katara. Your lessons will be in this room, but if you want, I’m sure a visit to the royal library can be arranged.” Rai pushed the door open and Katara peered inside. It was upsettingly reminiscent of the makeshift classroom in her home village. There was a long table with four metallic chairs in front of a blackboard and another door that probably connected this area to the library, but the room was free of people.

As she stepped in, she remarked, “It doesn’t look like we’re keeping anyone waiting. Should I just sit down?” Rai nodded, a little abashedly. Katara registered that there was an open window at her back, allowing for much-needed air circulation. This was the first room she had seen that wasn’t adorned with red, black, or gold - in fact, there were no colors in this room. She also observed that nothing flammable could be found in the room, and guessed that was the result of a spoiled royal kid throwing a fiery tantrum during a lesson. The waterbender muttered to herself about promptness and absently played with her hair loopies (she had almost fought Meng to keep them since they were not part of any traditional Fire Nation style) as she waited. Just as she was about to say something to Rai, who stood in front of the door leading to the library, a fair-skinned woman silently swept into the room. The waterbender had barely a second to look at the newcomer before she was sitting in front of her, a stack of books between them. How had she moved so quickly?

“Good morning. I am Lady Mai and I will be your mentor as you become a Fire Nation Lady.” As Katara narrowed her eyes, she noticed that Rai had already snuck out and she understood why. This woman was intimidating in a stealthy way, like her sharp nails could slice your cheek open in a split second and you would never be able to see it coming. She was tall, and had walked quickly with a regal sense of purpose. Even sitting, her posture was impeccable, not that Katara’s wasn’t. In fact, oddly enough, even though she could not look more different from the person across the table, she felt like she was looking at a mirror. Lady Mai had clearly been bred since birth to act in courtly capacities and was the perfect embodiment of everything Katara had envisioned a Fire Nation Lady to be. While Katara was nowhere near being as regal as this lady or Yue, she had taught herself how to act firm and purposeful in political settings, so that the men would be forced to take her seriously. The mannerisms she had trained into herself were simply radiating off her new teacher. The similarities she sensed between herself and this lady irked her.

“My name is Katara. I’m, uh, here for the arranged marriage,” she ended a bit uncertainly. Damnit! She had to make a good impression so that these people wouldn’t continue to see her people as savages, and from Lady Mai’s raised eyebrow, she knew she had already failed. That had to be the dumbest sentence she had ever said aloud.

“I am aware. I have been assigned to you by the Fire Lord to help you be a proper royal consort. Do you have a title you prefer?”

“Assigned? The Fire Lord? That’s strange. Um, Master or Sifu is alright.” 

“It is not strange at all, Master Katara. As of now, you are _clearly_ not a Fire Nation Lady, meaning that you are not a suitable match for the Fire Lord. However, due to political circumstances, the Fire Lord cannot exactly turn you down, meaning you must standardize yourself.” Katara hated every part of what Lady Mai had said. Every. Part. How dare they insinuate that the Fire Lord was too good for her? As if! Of course he was in no position to turn her down, he had asked for this marriage. And everyone knew that if the Fire Lord asked for something, he already had it because to refuse him could mean the onset of a new war that no one had the strength to fight. And she did not want to standardize herself! Certainly not with _this_ type. She was far better than them and she knew it. But apparently, the Lady saw right through her, because she said with an eyebrow arched even higher than before, “You think you’re too good to be standardized, don’t you? You seem like one of those people who complain that the Fire Nation treats their people like scum, and so in hypocritical retaliation, treats the Fire Nation as scum. It’s alright, I think the same way.”

Katara was extremely surprised. What had just happened? Her thoughts were verbalized, called hypocritical, and endorsed in a single breath. It certainly didn’t help that Lady Mai’s voice had zero inflection, meaning she couldn’t decipher any hidden meanings or even emotions. “What do you mean, you think the same way? How come you’re my mentor then?”

“You’re very curious too, aren’t you? That’ll be just perfect, the nobility is going to love a Fire Lady who doesn’t shut up,” she replied dryly. “Anyway, I do not need to answer your questions. All you need to know is that the Fire Lord decided that I would be your mentor and help you fit in with royalty.”

“But I don’t want to fit in with Fire Nation royalty. I’m Water Tribe, and I mean, we don’t do royalty, but I’m definitely used to the political arena. I’m the Chief's daughter and I acted as a tribal councilor these past few years. So you see, I don’t need to learn how to become one of you. I’m fine. And I don’t want to lose my identity. I can’t.” She was almost pleading with this woman she hardly liked, but she couldn’t stand the idea of just becoming another bland, stilted woman dressed in red. She already had to leave behind everyone she loved and everything that brought her comfort, they couldn’t make her give this up too. It would stay with her, just like her mother’s necklace that she was now clutching out of habit, and her traditional hairstyle.

“You will most likely be the next Fire Lady, whether you like it or not.” The use of ‘most likely’ did not miss Katara’s notice, but Lady Mai carried on. “I understand your position and feelings right now better than you realize, but there are some matters that you do not have a say in. If you really want to do good by your tribe, the Fire Nation, and indirectly, the rest of the world, you will learn when to fight and when to not, when to open your mouth and when to shut up - because only then will you actually be taken seriously as Fire Lady. Now, you can either be stubborn or get your act together and pay attention, but I will be teaching you the things you need to know regardless. One way will just be more difficult for you.”

Katara blinked. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had spoken to her that way, except for Toph. At least Toph’s jibes had an undercurrent of friendship; this woman was just nasty. But seeing as how Katara really couldn’t find a way out of this, she decided she may as well listen to Lady Mai. After all, the best way to defeat your enemy was to actually know them, right?

So she spent the rest of the morning being absolutely drilled on the names of current generals, commanders, admirals, and fleets by the woman with hairbuns and no emotions. Once, when Lady Mai was rustling through the books she had brought, Katara saw a flash of silver inside her sleeve. Was that a knife? What kind of psycho had been assigned as her teacher? Was this all some sort of master plan - if she stepped out of line, she got cut? La, she hated these people. 

They only took a break from all the names when Lady Mai knocked on the door and ordered their lunch be sent to the room. When it came, Katara panicked. How was she supposed to check for poison with the crazy woman sitting right there? Was she even allowed to waterbend? Come to think of it, she hadn’t checked for poison in her breakfast either, too caught up in the new tastes. She was getting sloppy already! _Come on Katara, get it together. You don’t want death by wilderberry jam, do you?_ She decided that all she could really do was wait for the Lady to eat first, and after Lady Mai had taken a few dainty spoonfuls of her soup and was still sitting upright, Katara finally began her lunch. Soup? Really? Why would these people want to eat hot and spicy stuff when the weather felt like they were living on the sun itself? Crazy. Katara wisely decided not to voice these opinions, and for fear of being callously judged, she didn’t even ask what type of soup it was. Instead, it felt like the two women had engaged in some sort of battle to see who could eat more delicately. A gentle dabbing at the lips from Lady Mai, a practically nonexistent sip of water through pursed lips from Master Katara. Katara ended up losing when the spice finally caught up to her and she had no choice but to douse her tongue with the glass of water. She narrowed her eyes at Lady Mai, daring her to say a taunt, but like a gracious noblewoman, she made no comment. 

Once they had both finished their lunch, they immediately jumped back into learning and memorizing names. Face, name, face, name, face, name. It was all a blur to Katara - they had never had so many councilmen in the Southern Water Tribe, and she had grown up around all of them, so it wasn’t like she had a difficult time remembering their names. In the Fire Nation, however, they had enough politicians to secede and start their own sizable nation. General Lo, Admiral Ri, Commander Jee, General Hau, Admiral Sen, that was the symbol of the border patrol, that was the symbol of the Royal Guards, and that was the symbol of the most important navy fleet...Katara was never going to remember all of these. When they finally finished, her brain felt like it was shutting down and Lady Mai told her to be prompt tomorrow morning for their continuation of the lesson. At the implied insult, Katara’s brain woke right back up. She wasn’t the one who had been late today, Lady Mai had! And a continuation? Just the thought of it made her want to throw up. Or no, maybe that was the soup that was too spicy to settle in her stomach. Maybe it had even been poisoned after all. She wasn’t sure if she was completely averse to the thought of poison right now. Never mind that, she had a very important question.

“Lady Mai, how long do I have until the, um, engagement?” Her teacher looked at her with surprise, or at least as much surprise as her features would allow her to show.

“Did you not read the contract?” What contract- oh. No, she hadn’t. Her father had offered to let her read and sign it, but she had foolishly thought that if she ignored it, it just would cease to exist. Obviously, that tactic hadn’t worked out too well. She shook her head. “Hm. I thought you said you were involved with the politics of your nation. I would have thought you would at least be aware of politics concerning yourself.” Katara pursed her lips. Did this woman ever stop insulting people? Just as she opened her mouth to retort ( _I don’t know what I’ll say, but I’ll say something_ ), Lady Mai went on. “The contract states that your engagement is to be in 6 months, however, if situations arise, that may be extended. 6 months after your engagement, whenever that is, will be the time of your wedding. I’ll take your leave now, Master Katara.” And with that, she swept out of the room the same way she had come in.

6 months. 6 months until she was an engaged woman. And then roughly a year from now, she would be a married woman. A wife. To the Fire Lord. In a daze, she practically stumbled out of the room and back down to the first floor of the palace as her guards trailed behind her. Part of her wanted to explore the huge building and learn more about the place she would be living at( _forever; how am I going to live here forever_ ), but the part of her that just needed to wrap her head around her situation overruled and dragged her to her room.

As she reached for the door, she had a sudden vision of her future. Behind her eyelids, she saw herself living the most monotonous life - wake up, eat, go to lessons, eat, come back to her room, eat, go to sleep. That snapped her out of her hazy thoughts and she physically recoiled from the door.

“Is something the matter, Master Katara?”

 _Everything, everything, everythi-_ “When am I allowed to leave?” She opened her eyes to see the guards share an uncertain look. “No, I mean, not leave the Fire Nation, just the palace. When am I allowed to go outside and see the city or something? Breathe fresh air?”

One of the guards spoke up after a few seconds. “We are not sure, Master Katara. We will ask and let you know.” She already knew who they would be asking. Great. Her personal agency was now in the hands of a man who ordered people’s deaths on a daily basis. With a growl, she stepped into her room, locked the door behind her, and flopped down on her bed in a most unladylike fashion.

* * *

When the light coming into the room lessened, one of her maids - Meng - entered the room balancing a tray of dishes and set it down on the table next to the window.

“Is there anything you need, Master Katara?”

 _Besides my freedom?_ The waterbender thought for a moment as she moved towards the table. “Will you eat with me? I’d like a bit of company.” She remembered that Meng was the one who had gone to Ba Sing Se University, despite being of Fire Nation descent, and wanted to know more about her. Maybe they could swap Earth Kingdom stories!

“I’m afraid I cannot do that, Master Katara. I’m sorry. However, I’m sure that if you would like to eat with the Fire Lord-”

“NO! I mean, sorry for yelling, but no, not at all. I’m not that lonely,” she said with a smile, trying to put Meng, who now looked terrified, at ease. The poor girl probably had trauma from being yelled at by the people in this palace and now Katara had added to it. Perfect. 

“Of course, Master Katara. I’ll be going now.” All she could do was nod as Meng scurried out of the room. Katara dropped her head into her hands as she thought about how today had gone so wrong. She had made a fool out of herself in front of Lady Mai, she had given in to her lessons too easily and then proceeded to learn nothing, she had made her guards wary of her, and now she had scared one of her maids, one of her only friends in this palace. A voice in her head that sounded like Sokka told her she was overreacting, but she couldn’t help it. 

So many new things were being thrown at her, and it wasn’t that she was unused to change. No, she savored change. It was just that in the Fire Nation, she felt so alone, lost, and exhausted. And it had only been a day of being here. The idea of spending the rest of her life like this made her want to cry. And she hadn’t even really met the Fire Lord yet. She was dreading that moment with all her heart.

After a dinner free of poison (she checked twice), she fell into her mattress. The one good thing that had come out of her lessons was that they had tired her out so much, she was able to fall into a restless sleep with fears of knives and names of fleets bouncing around in her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few words:  
> -I'm sorry if any of the characters seem OOC. It makes me uncomfortable to write about a 14/16 year old getting married, so I aged them up. Also, Katara never became friends with Aang, but she did meet the rest of the group (and you'll see how that affected her in upcoming chapters). So I have to keep those things in mind when writing her. Same with Mai and Zuko - their backgrounds are very similar to the show but there are some important differences that impact their personalities. Still, the reason we love Zutara is because they're Zuko and Katara, so if they get too OOC, please let me know!  
> -Also, if it's not clear the italicized text is usually Katara's thoughts. When you see italicized text inside parentheses, you can consider that to be Katara's more snarky thoughts that she keeps in the back of her mind. You'll see less of these as the story progresses, since she'll be more comfortable telling a certain someone exactly what she thinks of him.  
> -I'm not sure if Katara learning how to be a proper noblewoman is an original concept, but I'm pretty sure Mai being her teacher is! I want to be clear-I love Mai (and Aang). There will be no Aang slander because. he's dead. If Mai's character is demeaned, it's only because this story is mainly Katara's POV and Fire Nation people aren't exactly her favorite right now. I've seen too many stories where Katara is perfect and can do no wrong, but that's not really the case in the show. She can be terrifying, naive, mean, and crazy vindictive (too bad you can't see it, toph/I guess you didn't love her like I did - seriously? who says those things) and I really want to highlight that in this story too. So take her judgement of Mai with a grain of salt.  
> -Thank you to the people who reviewed - it literally makes my week. If you have criticisms, compliments, comments, questions, suggestions, or just some thoughts you want to get out there, please review! And I promise zutara action will be starting soon and the chapters will be getting longer.


	3. ecophobia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry about the delay! this chapter has a TON going on, so I hope that makes up for it.  
> I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything else you recognize.  
> enjoy!

Today morning, Katara found herself in the royal library. It had been a week since she had arrived at the Royal Palace and she was no less worried or repulsed by her situation as she had been seven days ago. Every weekday had been spent with Lady Mai, suffering through her lessons and thinly veiled insults. All the names she learned felt like they went in one ear and out the other, but despite her boredom, Katara could not accept being a failure. She had pushed herself and could now identify almost every important Fire Nation noble or general, only by hearing a few sentences about their stature or seeing their face. Unfortunately, these lessons left her exhausted and with little time to do anything else. 

When she could, she made friends with her maids, and even the guards who could always be found outside the doors of whatever room she was occupying at the time. Many rotations of guards had passed, but the two who were there most often were Shao and Meira. She had been surprised to learn that women were commonly found in the ranks of the Fire Nation military, as that was very different from what she had seen in the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom. (Not much could be said for the Air Nomads considering they were all pacifists.) Meira had assured her that if you could fight and wished to be a warrior, there wasn’t anything stopping you, although women still faced the occasional derogatory remark. Katara had a very difficult time swallowing the fact that the Fire Nation was doing something right, but reassured herself with the reminder of how no one in the Southern Water Tribe, at least, had told her she couldn’t use her waterbending for purposes other than healing.

The waterbender had spent the entirety of her weekend exploring the palace. In order to not get swept up by the magnificence, she had to remind herself repeatedly that the only reason they could afford all the opulence was because of their sick imperialism and aggressive ways. The Southern Water Tribe  _ could  _ have had palaces like this if all their waterbenders hadn’t been wiped out! Well, ignoring the fact that they didn’t really believe in royalty. Even still, Katara found herself impressed by the hundred or so rooms in the palace. There were four dining rooms, three ballrooms, two kitchens, and around 80 bedrooms for guests and nobility. There was the main throne room, which she had not entered since her first day here, and there was an entire wing dedicated to the rooms of the Fire Lord, which the guards had steered her away from (she was more than willing to comply). There was a Coronation Plaza and six gardens and courtyards, out of which Katara had only been able to enter two - the one right outside her window and the one near the servants’ quarters. She had also been told there were training grounds for firebending as well as weapon practice, but for some reason, she had not been taken anywhere near them. Even more suspiciously, there was an entire wing on the third floor that she had been discouraged from going to, but no one had even informed her of its purpose. This palace held too many secrets for her liking, and she wasn’t sure if she really wanted to know all of them.

Between actively avoiding the Fire Lord at any cost, looking out for danger around every corner, and fielding Lady Mai’s taunts, Katara had experienced a very stressful first week in the Fire Nation. So she was planning on spending this Monday sitting alone in the library. She had chosen the library as her haven because she was sure it held the answers to her predicament. Surely,  _ surely _ , she was not the first lady who detested the idea of a loveless marriage to a Fire Lord. Others must have felt the same and tried to escape, and she needed to know if any were successful - because if they were, maybe she stood a chance.  _ This library would have made Sokka foam at the mouth. Will I ever see him again? No, bad Katara! Thoughts like that don’t help.  _ Why was it that everyone else looked to her to cheer them up and stay optimistic but she couldn’t even do that for herself? 

She was trying so hard, really, but she felt so desolate. She had never felt so constrained before, not even living on a polar cap isolated from the rest of the world. And seeing as how the Southern Water Tribe was doing the Fire Nation a favor by marrying Katara off, she had thought that she would have a little more power. The guards still hadn’t told her if she was allowed to even step out of the palace, and when she had asked them for stationery to write letters home, they had said they weren’t allowed to give her that, because she might conspire against the Nation. As if! Wait, now that she thought about it....never mind, it would never have worked out. She turned her mind back to the pile of books about past royal marriages she had gotten a guard to point her towards just as a stack of sheets slammed down on the metallic table in front of her. 

From the perfectly manicured nails and long pale fingers, she knew exactly who had interrupted her precious time alone.  _ What’s Cardboard Face doing here? Hmm...maybe I should leave the nicknames to Toph.  _ Before she could ask that question aloud (of course, in a more civil manner), Lady Mai spoke.

“What are you doing here, Master Katara? Our lessons are always in the classroom next door.”

“Lessons? I didn’t know I still had lessons,” she muttered, not looking up from the nails painted black.

“Of course you do. You can’t possibly think you’ve learned everything there is to know about being a Fire Nation Lady in just a week. You’re far from it.” Her voice was so full of disdain that it made Katara angry. She had to purse her lips and clench her fists to ensure she wouldn’t lash out and say something uncouth. With a long-suffering sigh, Lady Mai sat down and started spreading the papers out on the table. Katara peered at them with her head still bowed and saw a collection of headshots picturing regal women.

“What’s this?” She finally looked up to see an expression on her teacher’s face that could almost be described as compassionate. Almost.

“I noticed that you had an attachment to your hairstyle. The...little loops. But it will not do to completely reject the styles of the people who will soon be under your sovereign. So you will have to find ways to compromise and mix your tribal customs with the ways of the Fire Nation." Katara knew Lady Mai was talking about a lot more than just hair. But still, the fact that she had even considered Katara’s feelings and preferences was surprising. And just a little moving. “I collected these paintings of previous Fire Ladies to help you find a traditional hairstyle that you could combine with your hair loops. Take a look. But do not ruin or crease the papers, they must be returned in the same pristine condition they are in currently.” With a nod, Katara picked up the picture closest to her and scanned the woman’s features and hair. The tight bun seemed to match perfectly with the lady’s pursed lips and frowning expression. 

“Who is this?”

“That would be Fire Lady Ilah, wife to Fire Lord Azulon.” Ah. No wonder she was frowning. Well, buns gave Katara a headache so that one wouldn’t work. She carefully placed the painting off to the side, where she would pile up any hairstyles that didn’t appeal to her. The next picture showed a woman with a round face and downcast eyes. Her hair was pulled into a high topknot with two strands framing either side of her face. “That is Fire Lady Lai. Don’t choose that hairstyle.” Katara raised an eyebrow at how the Lady’s voice had gone from informative to commanding in the same breath but shrugged as she put it off to the side.

“Wouldn’t have worked with my loops anyway. Hey, look! This is your hairstyle!” Katara wondered at how weird it was to be discussing hair with another girl - that was such a  _ normal  _ thing to do, something she might have done with Suki, and she hadn’t felt normal in such a long time. But she refocused on the picture in her hands that, indeed, showed a strict-looking woman with two hair buns on top of her head and the rest of her hair hanging loosely.

“Yes, I believe that is Fire Lady Hynu. It’s not a popular style but it works for me.” Katara nodded as she put that painting with the other rejects. They cycled through the rest of the portraits in this manner, with Lady Mai naming the subject and Katara deciding if it would work for her. In the end, Katara had found two hairstyles that worked with her loops. One belonged to Fire Lady Analu and was refreshingly simple - just two strands from next to her ears were pulled back and tied at the back while two thick strands from the rest of her hair were pulled to rest in front of her shoulders. The other one had been worn by Fire Lady Lurah and was just a loose ponytail, which meant that the hair loops wouldn’t even have to be touched to fit in. Katara looked up to say something to Lady Mai but noticed one last portrait that she hadn’t seen before. As she reached across the table to grasp it, the Lady made as if to stop her but held herself back.

“Who’s this?” The woman in the painting was pretty in an unobtrusive way. Some of her hair, parted in the middle, had been pulled into a high topknot, and the rest of it hung straight and perfect behind her neck. But it was her face that intrigued Katara the most - a sharp nose and chin, lips pulled into a smile that looked painful, and eyes that looked seconds away from flooding with tears. “I like the hairstyle.”

“That...that is the Dowager Fire Lady Ursa. It would be better if you did not mention her, ever, unless you are telling your maids to tie your hair up in that fashion.” Cardboard Face’s downturned face and hushed tone confused her. Who was this woman and why was she taboo? Meeting Katara’s eyes, Lady Mai went on, “She is the mother to the current Fire Lord.”

“Oh! Will I ever meet her?”

“She does not live here,” was the biting response. She frowned at how quickly her teacher’s tone had changed but knew from her expression that any more questions on this topic would be unwelcome. “So now that you have found hairstyles that suit you, mention them to your maids and they will take care to incorporate your hair loops. That is all for today. Be prompt for tomorrow’s lesson. We will be studying past Fire Lords and Ladies.”

“Okay. Th-thank you, Lady Mai. I really appreciate this,” she said, gesturing to the portraits that Lady Mai was now carefully stacking up.

A sharp nod and the usual, “I will take your leave now, Master Katara”, was all she received before Lady Mai swept out of the library. Only after she had left did Katara realize she had already been tricked into learning the names and faces of past Fire Ladies. Perhaps Cardboard Face deserved more credit and respect than Katara had been ready to give her. Certainly, her notice of Katara’s hesitancy to ditch her hair loops had made her a little easier to tolerate. She resolved to be nicer to Car-Lady Mai tomorrow. 

With a sigh, Katara picked up the first of her books and began to read the records of previous arranged marriages. But even as she skimmed the pages looking for a story about how someone had escaped, her mind was stuck on the sad eyes of Fire Lady Ursa.

* * *

Lady Mai’s words reverberated around her skull for the rest of the day.  _ You will have to find ways to compromise and mix your tribal customs with the ways of the Fire Nation.  _ Back in her bedroom, Katara looked down at her Fire Nation clothes. The red and gold...well, it didn’t look bad on her, but it was hard to get used to after only seeing herself in blues and white her whole life. However, the material of the clothes was perfect for the boiling temperatures of the Fire lands.  _ A compromise, huh? Let’s see if they’ll actually do it. _ Later that evening, when her maids visited her with dinner, she had a special request for them.

“If it’s not too much trouble, do you think new clothes could be fashioned for me? Clothes that are Fire Nation in style, but Southern Water Tribe in color? I mean, I’m certainly grateful for my current wardrobe, but...you understand.” She wasn’t sure if they actually did understand - how could they? Her position wasn’t exactly a common one. But she prayed that they would at least consider her idea. She noticed Sama and Aisa trading nervous looks and bit her lip. Would they answer her already?

Rai’s answer finally came. “Master Katara, I’m sure that can be arranged, but we will have to seek approval for a project such as that.” 

“Of course, of course. I really appreciate it,” she said with a half-hearted smile. She was starting to get really sick of this whole “seeking approval” business. Whose approval did she need to just deck the Fire Lord?

“It is our honor to serve you, Master Katara.” And with that, she was left alone again. 

* * *

After dinner, Katara practiced waterbending with the limited water from her pitcher (and a little she had snuck in from the pond outside her window). She missed the sensations of being on a beach, with the wind blowing through her hair and the entire ocean at her fingertips. She missed walking on ice and knowing that she was surrounded by her element. She hadn’t yet asked if she could practice her waterbending formally anywhere, for fear that she would be told “we’ll check and get back to you”, but she knew no bender could last very long without letting their chi flow. Maybe they were keeping her away from the training grounds as another form of underhanded torture.  _ I wouldn’t put it past them _ , she thought with a snarl and a sharp flick of her wrist that turned the flowing water into a frozen spire. 

Just then, someone banged on her door and she jumped.  _ Those definitely aren’t my maids, and even the guards don’t knock like that. Who is it?  _ With increasing trepidation, she kept her spire hovering as she inched towards the door. As she eased the door open, a figure dressed in dark colors slinked in and pushed the door shut again. Her eyes widened - why had the newcomer closed the door and what did he want? Squinting at the man, she realized that she recognized his sharp, handsome features and downturned black mustache - this was Chief Royal Advisor Akum.  _ Never thought I’d say this, but thank you for the lessons, Cardboard Face.  _ Before she could ask him what his business was, he began to speak in a silky voice.

“Miss Katara, it is a pleasure to see you doing so well. My sincerest apologies for not coming to visit you earlier this week, I have been extremely preoccupied with the affairs of the Nation. Ah, how rude of me! For all intents and purposes, I am the Fire Lord’s right hand and my name is-”

“I know who you are, Royal Advisor Akum. And my title is Master.” Unlike with her maids, she had no qualms about demanding respect from this man. He shot a wary glance at the ice block still suspended in the air behind her. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Rearranging his features to show nonchalance, he went on in his disconcerting tone. “Not at all, Master Katara. Congratulations on your rank - I had heard that you achieved mastery over your bending at the age of fourteen. Very impressive indeed. Now, put yourself at ease! I am only here to check on your well-being. I trust your living quarters are up to your standards?”

She did not drop the ice; how dare he tell her to be at ease? “Yes, they are. Thank you for asking.” At her answer, he smirked in a way that implied he was privy to a joke she was the butt of. 

“Of course, Master Katara. And your maids are to your liking?” His smirk grew for some unfathomable reason and she wanted to slap it off his face.

“Yes, they are very kind and efficient in their tasks.”

“Perfect. They were handpicked by me, so that does not come as a surprise. But it is good to know you are adjusting to life in the Fire Nation well. I’m sure it is leaps and bounds away from what you are used to in your village. Life back home must have been very quaint, yes, Master Katara?” This man just loved the sound of his own voice, didn’t he?

“It was perfect back home. We had a very tight-knit community, no worries about secession or wars breaking out. Just wonderful.” The advisor’s eyes flashed but he retained his sickeningly smug look.

“Ah, yes, and I suppose it helps when there’s not much to secede from in the first place.” His eyes flicked to a spot behind her again, and she knew her icicle had sharpened and was pointing at him. _Whose fault is that, you smug asshat?_ _Whose fault is it that our population is so tiny?_ “Well, Master Katara, this has been a lovely talk but I should be leaving you to get your rest now.” He started opening the door again and Katara nodded.

“I agree. Thank you for stopping in, Royal Advisor Akum.”

“Certainly. I will see you soon, I’m sure. But just tell me one more thing. Have you met the Fire Lord yet?” For reasons unknown to herself, she stilled at the question - and he noticed. He flashed a grin, baring his teeth. “I see, no worries, Master Katara. I’m sure that will happen soon. Good night.” As soon as he was fully out the door, she slammed it shut and locked it. Why was she breathing so heavily?  _ He was just trying to get to you, Katara. Don’t let him. Be the stronger person. _

She tried to return to her bending practice, but without proper control of her emotions, the water just kept freezing. With a long yawn, she returned the water to the pitcher and climbed onto her bed. Her insomnia hadn’t gotten much better and the image of Akum’s smirk that flashed behind her eyelids was not going to help tonight. She settled in for yet another restless night.

* * *

The next morning, all her maids came bustling in with their hands full. She peeked over Sama’s shoulder as they walked to her wardrobe and gasped.

“Are those...”

“Yes, Master Katara. These are the clothes you requested. What do you think of them?” Rai had a slight smile on her face as she held up a tunic in a Fire Nation style, but light blue cloth. Katara squealed.

“They’re perfect! I love them already!” As Meng and Sama helped her get into her new clothes, she thought of how quickly her request had been approved and the clothes had been made. She hoped no one had worn themselves out toiling over her clothes. But, she thought with a curl of her lip, how come the Fire Lord had time to approve frivolous things like clothes, instead of her pleas to write home and visit the city? She shook her head - had she really expected any better? It was no use getting worked up over things she couldn’t change right now, so she put it out of mind.

As she munched on her bread and jam, she realized there was another question niggling at the back of her brain. “Hey, Lina. Besides the Fire Lord, the servants, and me, does anyone else live in the palace?”

“Uh, well, Master Katara, there’s actually-”

A soft, but clearly intentional, cough interrupted the woman. Both Katara and Lina turned to face Rai, who shook her head at her fellow maid. It was imperceptible, or at least it would have been if Katara hadn’t trained herself to pick up on movements just like that.

“What was that all about Rai? What are you trying to not tell me?” The head maid looked alarmed and Lina began to speak quickly.

“No, Master Katara. I’m not sure why, but I believe Rai just didn’t want me to tell you that sometimes nobility, especially Lady Mai, stays in the palace.”

“I didn’t want to tell you that because Lady Mai likes to keep her personal matters between her and her husband. That’s all, Master Katara. I didn't mean to offend you.”

Their shaky voices gave them away. Katara wasn’t born yesterday - she knew they were still lying to her, but she decided they could keep their secrets for now. “It’s fine Rai. I suppose we should go to Lady Mai’s lessons now. Huh. I didn’t know she was married.”

“Indeed she is. Her husband is a very...interesting man. But he’s good to her.” As they climbed up the staircase to the second floor, Rai rattled off a few other names of noblemen and women who lived in the palace from time to time.

“What about Royal Advisor Akum? Does he ever stay in the palace?” The maid’s shudder when Katara said the man’s name did not pass the waterbender’s notice.

“Chief Royal Advisor Akum has a large family, so he lives in his expansive estate. It’s still in the Caldera, but a distance away from the palace. Why do you ask?”

“Oh nothing, I just met him last night and was curious.” Katara noticed that Rai’s eyes widened, but before she could ask why, they were pushing the classroom door open. Lady Mai’s voice rang out.

“It’s about time, Master Katara.” She scowled as she sat in her seat.  _ Remember, you have to try to be nice to her. _

“Good morning, Lady Mai. I hope you had a good night’s sleep.” The Lady’s eyebrows raised at Katara’s unusual greeting.

“I...did. And you?”

“I did as well. Lady Mai, I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“Why- why did you help me yesterday? You know, with the hairstyles? What does it matter to you if I want to hold on to my customs or if the Fire Nation people don’t like me?” Her teacher’s eyes lingered on Katara’s new tunic.

“I see you took my words about compromise to heart. The clothes suit you well.”

“I did, and thank you, but-”

“To answer your question, it is my responsibility to make sure you are a suitable Fire Lady. If the common people do not like you, or you show a lack of understanding and respect for Fire Nation traditions, then that directly reflects on me in a negative way.”

Katara tucked her chin. So it had just been a matter of responsibility. That wasn’t entirely surprising, so why did she feel disappointed?

“But...that’s not all,” Lady Mai said as she sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. “I understand how you’re feeling much better than you think. I was actually in your position two years ago. My entire life, everything I learned, everything I did, revolved around one day marrying the Fire Lord. And I was fine with that too, until...things changed. So we did not get married, but the Fire Lord and I have remained close friends. Seeing as how I have the most experience when it comes to your situation, the Fire Lord decided that I would be your mentor and help you fit in with royalty.”

“Did the ‘things’ that changed- did that have anything to do with your husband?”

The normally stoic woman looked taken aback. “How do you know about him?”

“My maids.”

“Oh. Well, partially, yes.” Katara didn’t know what to think. She never would have guessed that someone else had been slated to marry the current Fire Lord, and she certainly wouldn’t have expected it to be Lady Mai. Although, now that she thought about it, it did make sense when one considered her demeanor. She wondered if she could escape this marriage the same way her teacher had, but realized that their situations were too different. Lady Mai had not had an entire nation’s safety resting on her shoulders.

They sat in silence for a few moments, soaking in the fact that Lady Mai had shared more about herself in the past five minutes than she had in a week. The Lady literally shook herself out of it and sat up straight again. “Enough about me. Let’s get started with the First Fire Lor-”

“I met Chief Royal Advisor Akum last night.”

“What?” Katara felt a little victorious over getting her mentor to show emotion twice in one day, even if it was only shock both times.

“Well, I didn’t really meet him. It was more like he barged into my room right after dinner.” Lady Mai slammed her hands on the table as she stood up.

“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? Why were you asking incessant questions about me when you should have been telling me about this?”

“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” Katara replied as she straightened her spine. She didn’t want to admit that the meeting had left her shaken and wanting to forget it ever happened. She didn’t even know why she had blurted out the line about meeting the advisor.

“Of course it’s a big deal. There is no need for any royal advisor to be meeting you until Zuko has, and there is definitely no need for any man to be barging into your bedroom. Did you tell anyone about this?”

“I told my head maid, Rai, just before I came in here.”

“And what did Advisor Akum want with you?”

“He said he just wanted to check on my wellbeing.”

“Check on your wellbeing, my foot. He was testing you. And indirectly testing me,” Lady Mai scathed and Katara blinked at how...unladylike she was acting, what with her pacing and muttering. “Did he say anything to get a rise out of you?”

“Yeah, actually, he insulted the Southern Water Tribe.”

“How predictable.”

“Do you not like him?” Lady Mai paused her pacing to look at the waterbender with pursed lips.

“No one likes him,” she said dryly. “Not even Zuko. He just has to keep him around because he’s proven to be loyal to the crown and he’s rich. And for nonbender representation. He was the senior-most member of Ozai’s cabinet to swear fealty to Zuko, and so he got to stay. But he’s always getting into business that isn’t his, trying to trip up Zuko in subtle ways, and for some reason, he holds a grudge against me. I’m fairly certain he hates you too, but don’t bother trying to figure out why. It’ll rot your brain.”

“I see.” She didn’t really, and she was already sick of all these political games. In the Southern Water Tribe, it was simple. Everyone knew each other, everyone had grown up with each other, and everyone had the tribe’s best interests at heart. They were a very well-oiled community, and it made them prosper. The Fire Nation seemed to share no such sentiments and it appalled a girl who had grown up in a world where a sense of family was treasured. No wonder these people got into wars and other nations didn't trust them!

“Well, I suppose we’ll have to change the order of our lessons. We will hold off on the history of the Fire Nation, and instead, you will start to learn courtspeak.”

“Courtspeak?”

“Yes. The ability to decipher and send thinly veiled insults while still being diplomatic.”

“But I can already decipher your thinly veiled insults.” Lady Mai arched an eyebrow, but Katara did not cower. This woman had treated her like something pulled out of Toph’s toenails for the entirety of the past week, and even though she might have been nicer yesterday, she wasn’t going to be let off the hook easily. With a drawn-out sigh, Lady Mai shook out her sleeves ( _ how was she even wearing long sleeves in this heat? _ ) and sat down.

“Has anyone ever told you to tone down the attitude?”

“Yes. That doesn’t mean I listen.”

“Look, I know you think of us as at odds with each other, but I am on your side. I do want to help you and I’m not here to be your tormentor.”

“My side is getting out of this marriage. Not being groomed to be the ‘perfect Fire Lady.’”

“I cannot help you with that. And a word to the wise, there’s really no point in trying. I know you’ve been reading books and scrolls from the library to find a way out, but you won’t succeed. Although, if you’re anything like how I think you are, you’re not the type to just give up.”

“No, I’m not, Lady Mai. I’ll come to your lessons, and pay attention, and do my best, but if I come across a way to get out of this arrangement, I will.” Katara realized there may be some danger in telling this to a close friend of the Fire Lord, but she didn’t really care. Honestly, it wasn’t like it was any secret that she didn’t want to be here.

“I am glad that you have decided to be honest with me about your intentions, Master Katara. And I promise you, I will also do my job to the best of my ability. But I will not antagonize you. There is no point in us fostering dislike.” The waterbender thought about her words -  _ I am on your side _ \- and nodded. One more friend, or even ally, could only be a blessing. 

“You can- you can just call me Katara.”

Lady Mai replied in a way that would have been deemed shy in any other person’s voice, “And you can call me Mai.”

* * *

Katara had never realized just how much of her energy was used up in engaging in the silent battle of wills with Mai, rather than actually paying attention to her teachings until she no longer had to battle. She left the classroom feeling lighter than she had in days, despite just having learned several hundred different ways to offer a nobleman your condolences. The lesson had passed by very quickly, and Katara had learned that her new friend had a rapier wit that was admirable and hilarious (when it wasn’t aimed at her). As she practically bounded down the steps to go to her bedroom, one of the guards at her back spoke.

“Master Katara, your request to go into the city has been approved.” Her eyes widened - could this day get any better?

“Really?” At the foot of the staircase, she whirled around to face her guards that were nodding at her. 

“Yes, as long as two guards are with you at all times,” replied the other guard, Meira. Well, that was a bit annoying, but she understood the need and wouldn’t allow anything to dampen her good mood. 

“Perfect! Can I go today?” Shao replied in the affirmative, and Katara raced off to her room to get dressed. Alezi and Lin were already there waiting for her, grinning.

“Rai told us that you would want to go to the city immediately. Obviously, she knows you too well, Master Katara.”

The blue-eyed girl giggled. “I can’t wait! What do you guys think I should visit first?” As they dressed her in a red, loose dress and leggings (Lin said it would help her blend in and stay safe, since the blue clothes were very clearly high quality and tailor-made), they told her about all their favorite shops and restaurants. 

Once she grabbed her waterskin, she stepped out into the hallway and followed her guards to the palace’s entrance. She waved at the unmoving guards who stood at attention as Shao told her the plan.

“It’s a short carriage ride to the main part of the city. Then, we’ll get down and look around wherever you please. We’ll return by sundown, which will be in an hour or so, unless you want to come back earlier.”

“Sounds good! You know, you guys really don’t have to follow me around everywhere. I’m a master waterbender; I can take care of myself.”

“We’re sure, Master Katara, but we have our orders.”

She hummed in understanding as she climbed into the carriage with the driver’s assistance. In just two or three minutes, they were standing on land again, this time at the end of a cobblestone road that was lined with shops and houses. Every building was topped by a red roof, and almost every person was clothed in red or gold, creating a landscape of Fire Nation perfection. She breathed in the clean air and grinned widely. For the first time in a week, she felt like a human instead of a caged bird.

She flitted from door to door of buildings, admiring goods on sale and meeting new people. She felt hyper-aware of the fact that these people could possibly be, one day, under her rule. If she would even have power as Fire Lady. She made a mental note to ask Mai about that in her next lesson. Despite all her notions about the Fire Nation, she found herself laughing with working women, tossing stray balls back to playing children, and complimenting the handiwork of toiling men. Sokka would have been so concerned to see her letting her guard down in front of people who wielded fire, but right now, Katara couldn’t see them as anything besides people just like her.

She did notice that many people gave her strange looks, and initially, she chalked it up to the guards who were silently following her. But then, as she saw multiple passersby make eye contact with her, study her clothes, and then send a strange look her way, she figured it out. Her skin and eye color were very obviously Water Tribe, while her clothes were very obviously Fire Nation. And as she studied the crowds, she noticed that anyone else with her skin color proudly wore blue - and was treated normally. In fact, she observed that there was a sense of harmony here that she had not anticipated finding in the capital of the most bigoted nation. Although the majority of the people in the streets were wearing red and had tawny eyes, there were a few Water Tribe folk, a fair amount of people with yellow robes, and a significant number of people dressed in green. She didn’t see anyone being pushed around for their accent or the color of their skin, and it brought her a sense of peace (although it did mess with a few assumptions she had been making). It was surprising to see that this city treated all the races more fairly than Katara had noticed was normal in the Earth Kingdom. She faintly wondered what the Fire Lord thought of all this goodness happening right under his nose.

As the sun started to set, Meira tapped on her shoulder and motioned in the general direction of where they had left the carriage. Katara hugged the children she had been entertaining with waterbending tricks near a fountain and waved goodbye to their parents.

Even as the carriage pulled into the palace and Katara walked to her room, she remained light-hearted. It had been good for her soul to practice waterbending on a larger scale, to talk to new people, to breathe fresh air, and to clear her mind. It wasn’t until she clambered into her bed (that still felt foreign) that the energy she had exerted through the day caught up to her. For the first time since her arrival in the Fire Nation, she drifted off into a deep sleep with a small smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Fire Lady Analu's hairstyle is Katara's hairstyle that she wore while in the Fire Nation.  
> 2) the reason this chapter took so long to post is that I got ahead of myself and tried to get our favorite angsty boy in here. it made the chapter way too long and would have detracted from other important things being exposed in this chapter, so it had to be held off. but it's happening soon, I promise! I'm as excited about it as you guys are and I want to make it perfect so it doesn't disappoint. chapter 4 is mostly written so it should be up Monday night. fingers crossed  
> 3) All my love to the people who have commented + left kudos. Always happy to hear your criticisms, compliments, comments, questions, suggestions, or just your thoughts. Thanks for reading!


	4. eremophobia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lots of exciting things happening in this chapter. enjoy!  
> I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything else you recognize.

“You!”

“Hey there, Katara. How’ve you been?”

“You two know each other?” Katara blinked at Mai, who had asked the question and looked mildly shocked. This was just a bad dream. It had to be. There was absolutely no way.

“Mai, you know him?”

“He’s my husband, so I would hope so.”

“Your husband? Mai, _you_ married... _him_ ? How?” Katara could _feel_ her world collapsing (she was somewhat aware of the fact that this was an extreme overreaction, but ignored that). What was happening? 

Over the past week, the truce between Katara and Mai had blossomed into a friendship full of witty retorts and jokes about courtspeak that had Katara in fits of laughter and Mai’s lips quirking upwards. She had learned her teacher was one year her senior, a fantastic knife-wielder (yes, she did hide them in her sleeves), had an incredible distaste for the life of a noblewoman, and had grown up with a strict mother and a political figure of a father so busy she rarely saw him. Katara spent time with her outside of lessons too, when she wasn’t wandering the palace or sitting in the garden near her bedroom. Most evenings, both girls retired to the library to read and relax. 

Today, they had been doing just that after their last lesson of the week, when a man strode up to them and placed a hand on Mai’s shoulder. When Katara saw him, her jaw had dropped. Gone were the patchwork clothes and makeshift shoulder pads. Gone was the piece of wheat that had seemed permanently fixed between his teeth. Still there were the curved eyebrows, the insufferable smirk (that you once found so handsome, her brain unhelpfully offered), the shaggy hair, and the swagger. Still there was Jet.

“You- you died!”

“You hear that, Mai? Katara here thinks I’m dead.” Mai now looked amused, and just a little confused.

“No! I was there, in the Dai Li headquarters. The boulder, it crushed you. I- I couldn’t save you,” she ended, in a near whisper. Jet’s face softened as he pulled out a chair next to his wife.

“Katara, hey. It’s alright. You didn’t need to save me. I lived, okay? Don’t worry about it.” She could hardly hear him over the tide of memories rushing to the forefront of her mind. That night had haunted her for months.

* * *

_98 AG_

Katara had first met Jet as a fourteen-year-old. She and her brother had been making their way to the North Pole, not only so that she could learn waterbending, but also because Gran-Gran had decided it was time for the two of them to see the world.

“Your mother and father...they would have wanted you to live life and travel. But if you see your father while you two are out there, tell him to come home right away. I’ve got a sound hearing waiting for him,” Kanna had said with a melancholy smile. It wouldn’t occur to Katara until years later, just how selfless and strong her grandmother had been, to watch two more people she loved drift away from her in the sea, with no guarantee of their return.

By the time the two siblings bumped into Jet, they had already visited the Southern Air Temple (the people there had apparently known Kanna, and liked her so much that they had no qualms lending her grandchildren an unclaimed air bison) and made their way through many Earth Kingdom towns and cities, meeting wonderful people along the way. They had spent around 3 weeks on Kyoshi Island, where Sokka had gotten his ass thoroughly kicked by the fearless Suki (and developed a bit of a crush on said girl), but had also truly started to grow as a warrior. Then, they had stopped in Omashu for a while, where King Bumi had taken a liking to them simply because Water Tribe people were a rare sight inside his walls. After that, they had ended up in a Fire Nation colony, where they befriended the soft-spoken Haru and Katara had discovered her public speaking skills. 

As they continued to travel northward, word of their good deeds and friendly disposition had spread. Many people in the villages they passed through had heard of the Water Tribe do-gooders. They were treated with hospitality and care and had countless admirers. However, they also met their fair share of Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation aggressors as they continued their journey, and it was during one of these unfortunate meetings that the Freedom Fighters came swooping in out of the trees to save them.

To a fourteen-year-old girl whose interaction with the opposite gender had mostly consisted of her brother and four-year-olds in their village, Jet was the greatest thing since five-flavor soup. She was drawn in by his self-assuredness, the way he led his group with ease, and maybe even the thought of doing something Sokka hated. It certainly didn’t hurt that she could empathize with him on a deeper level - he too had lost his parents to the monstrosity that was the Fire Nation. 

Even in times of relative peace, Fire Nation militants often went into fits of fanaticism and wiped out Earth Kingdom people, Air Nomads, and Water Tribe people who they saw as threats. Kya had been lost in one such raid, when a Fire Nation man had come looking for the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe, and that was a day Katara would never forget. So when she found people with similar experiences - Haru, with his father who had been kept as an earthbending slave, Jet being orphaned at the tender age of eight - she had no choice but to make room in her heart for them. (And she was pretty confident in the idea that all these unfortunate happenings could be traced back to the Fire Lord, which did wonders for her perspective on her future engagement.) 

As such, Jet had found himself a pretty nice place in her heart, until he showed his true colors. Turned out he was more than happy to use Katara’s waterbending to flood a village in which Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom citizens were living in harmony, because even though innocents would die, at least he was attacking the Fire Nation! Needless to say, Sokka had felt very vindicated and the siblings had moved out of the area very quickly, after twisting Jet’s arms a bit.

Cut to two years later, Katara and Sokka were in Ba Sing Se with their new friend, the runaway Toph. They spent all their free time maintaining their vigilante reputations and meeting new people. When they crossed paths with Jet, it was an unpleasant surprise until they realized he had been brainwashed. Through him, the trio found out about the Dai Li’s nasty business with Joo Dees. They collected people and brainwashed half of them to become monotonous tools of “cultural preservation”, which really meant they had no life outside of giving tours. The other half, the allegedly stronger half, was brainwashed into blindly spewing anti-Fire Nation propaganda and challenging people to Agni Kais at random intervals. 

Of course, the siblings and Toph started working to free all the Joo Dees and Katara learned that her healing did much more than just fix scrapes and bruises - it could also heal mental trauma and undo brainwashing. However, even with outside help, this was a tedious and dangerous process. On one trip to the Dai Li headquarters, the one that would in fact be their last, they had been caught. In the crossfire, Jet had been crushed by a boulder, and despite all of Katara’s efforts, she had been forced to leave the room with Jet’s weak reassurances echoing in her head, and Toph’s whispered confession: “he’s lying.”

Katara could not even begin to count the number of nights she had woken up with tears on her face, because there had been one more person she couldn’t save. And yet…

* * *

_Present Day_

“Hey. Earth to Katara. You still here?”

“Jet. Give her a second. And you have a lot of explaining to do later. You never mentioned Katara.”

“Wait, are we having a fight right now?”

“Do you want to?”

“Well, kinda, because then we can have make-up s-”

“Okay! Do not need to hear that! Please.”

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Katara. Wanna tell us about your trip to the Spirit World? Swap stories?”

“Jet, honestly. Give it a rest.”

“Thanks, Mai. No, it’s just...I really thought you died. And it was my fault too. So many nights, it just haunted me that I wasn’t able to save you, and I hadn’t ever told you that I forgave you, so you would have died thinking I hated you, and I really couldn’t stand that thought. I’m just trying to reconcile all of those feelings with the fact that you’re sitting here, right now, very alive.”

“Yeah, I am. Seriously, Katara, it wasn’t your fault. And I’m totally fine now. Perfect, if I do say so myself.”

“But you’re _here_.”

“How astute.” Katara glared at the other girl, who still seemed to be finding all of this amusing. She turned back to the ex-Freedom Fighter.

“Jet. You hate the Fire Nation with all your heart. And now you’re in the Fire Lord’s home? How?”

“Things change,” he said with a shrug. “But that reminds me. You’re the chick getting hitched with the Fire Lord, aren’t you?”

Mai coughed behind her hand, but it sounded more like a restrained laugh. “You couldn’t have found a more crude way to say that?”

“Actually, sweetheart, I could’ve. Katara’s the-”

“Alright, I get it! You two are such a strange couple. No offense.”

“None taken.” Jet put his arm around his wife and leaned back, while Mai gave her a disapproving look.

“Katara. How would you say that in a more diplomatic way?”

“Um...you make such a wonderful pair. I can see perfectly why the two of you would have fallen in love,” she said with false cheer and Jet snorted. Katara had learned that courtspeak was very easy if you knew how to lie through your teeth. Good thing she could not lie to save her life.

“Hmm,” came Mai’s neutral reply. “Decent, but we still have a long way to go.”

“Thanks. I think. But seriously, how did the two of you happen?”

“That’s a story for another time. Now, Kat, tell us. What do you think of your future husband, also known as the bane of your existence?” She had never wanted to slap the shit-eating grin off of his face more than she did at this moment.

“Don’t call me Kat, Jet. And I hate him.” Mai’s eyebrow arched in that perfect way that made it look like it was painted onto her face.

“Have you met him yet?”

“I don’t need to. I’d rather not, in fact.” Her teacher let out a long-drawn sigh.

“How many times do I have to tell you this? He’s a good, honorable, caring man. He will be a good husband.”

“Not as good as me.”

“No, not as good as you,” Mai said to Jet with a smile that was...soft? Katara’s head hurt.

“Um. Well, I’ll believe it when I see it,” she muttered to get the conversation back on track. “You kind of have a bias, Mai, so you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t take your evaluation of him at face value. Wait, Jet, what do you think of him?” She could see he was planning to make a stupid comment, so she gave him her best death stare. He sat up straight and scratched the back of his neck.

“Zuko’s- he’s not the worst guy. He’s a good ruler, and you can tell he cares about his people. But he’s super depressed too. Which makes sense, considering, uh, pretty much everything that’s ever happened to him.”

“And,” his wife interrupted, “he does need help in the romance department.” ( _He needs help, full stop. How come neither of them remembers he’s a murderer?_ )

“Right, well, Mai’s the expert if, for some reason, you want to hear about his romantic side. But from what I’ve seen, he’s a good person. And he’s wicked with those swords, man.”

“Very reassuring, thanks, you two. I feel so much better about all this.”

Jet said, “sarcastic as ever, Katara,” just as Mai said, “anytime.” Jet blinked and then smirked.

“I guess I like my girls sarcastic.” Mai shoved him lightly, but she couldn’t hide the small smile on her face. Katara seriously wondered if her teacher was ill. “Well, if you’ll excuse us now, Katara, my wife and I have a date to attend.” He threw the waterbender a wink before standing and reaching out to help his wife up.

“Have a good night, Katara. I’ll see you after the weekend.” Before she could say anything, Lady Mai and ( _Lord? ew_ ) Jet were walking away from her, backs straight and heads slightly tilted towards each other. _Times really do change._

* * *

It’s during her second visit to the city that it happens.

It was Sunday now, and thoughts of the week ahead, for reasons she couldn’t verbalize, scared her. On a whim, when her maids entered with breakfast, she asked for the date. It’s not like she could do much with the information, but at least it made her feel knowledgeable. When Alezi told her it was the fifteenth day of the fourth month, Katara stiffened.

“Is everything alright, Master Katara?”

“Yes, yes. Everything’s fine, Alezi, thank you. If you all don’t mind, could I please be alone right now?” Rai quickly herded the other maids out the door before softly closing it behind her. Katara buried her face in her arms.

He was turning 21 today. She had never, ever, been away from Sokka for his birthday. Besides the year in which she hadn’t even been alive, she had celebrated every single one with him. Mom, Dad, Gran-Gran - none of them could claim the same. But she had stuck by Sokka through everything, and he had done the same for her. No one saw her as he did, and no one knew him as she did. And in the end, she was torn away from him. Here she was, in the lion’s den, without her best friend next to her. If Sokka were here, he would know what to do, how to act, when to escape, who the enemies were...he would know _everything_. And on top of it all, she wasn’t even able to write him a letter. She missed him so much, she swore she could feel her heart cracking. 

“I miss you, Sokka,” she whispered to the tray of cold food in front of her through her dry sobs.

Her hate for the Fire Lord was reaching new levels.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there trying to envision every part of her brother’s face. But when she was done, her resolve had hardened. She could hear Sokka telling her to cheer up, try all the new foods of this land, and figure out how their contraptions worked. A soft laugh escaped her as she thought of how she never had the knack for his last suggestion, but she could do the first two. She would. At least for today.

With that thought, she forced down the hard bread and started wearing her traditional Water Tribe dress - the one she had worn throughout her travels with Sokka. She would not wear Fire Nation clothes today. _Actually, maybe I should never wear Fire Nation clothes when I go to the city. It’ll just make more people look at me weirdly._ She nodded to herself as she grabbed her waterskin and peeked into the hallway outside her door. As expected, two guards were standing watch.

“Hey, Reku and...it’s Jozu, right?”

“Yes, Master Katara. How can we help?”

“I’d like to go to the city today.”

“Of course, Master Katara. We will let Shao and Meira know right away.” She closed the door behind her and followed the two men. When they reached the main foyer, Reku gestured for her to stay there, before walking off with Jozu in the other direction. She tapped her foot with her well-renowned impatience as she studied the area she was in. Every wall was dark red, lined with gold, and displayed a few paintings. She turned fully to face the one closest to her. It was an oil painting of a blue and red dragon nestled around each other. Dragons. She was aware that they were the teachers of firebending, and yet, the Fire Nation had hunted them into extinction. _Just goes to show you what awful people they are._ Nevertheless, a small smile made its home on her face as she studied the details of the painting. Somehow, the creator had made the subjects look content, and she noticed a few golden eggs nestled in between the two dragons. She was pulled out of her examination by an unnerving voice. 

“Good morning, Master Katara. May I inquire as to where you are headed today?” _Aw, not this man again! No, you may not!_

She shifted to see Royal Advisor Akum standing off to the side, with his hands clasped and a fraudulently polite smile on his stupid face. “I was intending to visit Caldera City.”

“Ah, it’s a wonderful place, is it not?”

“It is,” she said truthfully. She may not like the person who rules over it, but she couldn’t forget the lovely, normal people she had met and the beauty of the gridded city.

“Well, it seems as though your security is here, so I will not keep you. Have a safe trip, Master Katara.” As he glided away, her mind was whirling. He had practically spat the word ‘security’ and it made her gut twist. She was relieved to see Shao and Meira approach her and gave them a half-smile.

“Mornin’, Master Katara. We’re going into the city today?”

“I would like to if that’s alright with you two.”

“We’ve got nothing better to do,” Meira said in a kind tone. Katara knew she was safe around these two and had a small moment of shock when she realized she felt safe at all in the Fire Nation.

* * *

The city was very crowded today, which was understandable, seeing as how it was the weekend. But what she did not understand was why there was suddenly a huge pack of people swarming towards her. A second later, she realized they weren’t looking at her, but rather at some attraction behind her that had just been unveiled. Some statue or something. She pushed her way through the crowd until she could breathe again, and found herself at the other end of the street. It was empty. 

_Have a safe trip, Master Katara._

Where were Shao and Meira? She whirled around and spent a minute searching for them before she chastised herself. She was a master waterbender for crying out loud, she didn’t need anyone else to protect her. In fact, she preferred this; she hated the inevitable attention she attracted with two royal guards trailing behind her.

She trotted from store to store, wondering what Sokka would have liked to buy. She laughed out loud as she remembered his ridiculous shopping tendencies. At every restaurant she peered into, she thought of the things he would have liked to eat. Her stomach grumbled when she saw a bakery with the most adorable and scrumptious-looking pastries, but she pursed her lips as she realized she didn’t have any money. _Nice going, Katara._

At the sound of a low and loud moan, she looked up to see three air bison soaring through clear skies and grinned. She thought of Samten and hoped Sokka was feeding him properly. Some of the best days of her life had taken place on Samten’s back. What a cute air bison he had been. She felt a soft tug on her dress and looked down.

A young boy was looking at her with tear-filled eyes.

“Are you a healer, miss?” She kneeled to be level with him. She knew it was a good idea to wear her Water Tribe clothes.

“Yes, I am. What’s wrong?”

“Can you come with me please?”

“Yes, of course.” As soon as she stood up, she was being dragged down the street, and she practically had to run to keep pace with the child.

He kept saying something and giving her fearful glances. “I’m sorry...they’ll hurt her...I don’t wanna...I’m sorry.” Her brow creased with confusion.

“Hey, it’s going to be alright. Don’t worry, okay? I’ll help you.” He did not seem to have heard her. They kept winding through streets and alleyways until they ended up at an intersection. The boy crossed over to one corner, where a small figure was curled up. Katara thought it was a cat until the boy picked it up, and she realized it was a girl. She walked over to the two children and reached out to touch the girl’s forehead. She didn’t have a fever; the only issue she sensed was severe starvation. Katara tightened her jaw. She still didn’t have money, but she was going to have to find some way to feed these two children. Looking down at them, she saw Sokka and herself and it took all her self-control to not burst into tears.

“Okay, we’re going to get you and your sister some food and water. Do you guys...know where your parents are?” The girl did not stir, but the boy looked up at her fearfully and shook his head.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“No, no. Please don’t be sorry. Let’s go find some food, okay?” The boy just shook his head again and she frowned while brushing hair back from his sweaty face. Oh, of course. He didn’t want to leave his sister.

“I can carry your sister, she’ll come wi-”

“Hey there, pretty lady.”

Katara stiffened and stood up straight as she felt someone’s hand run across her shoulders. She had been so preoccupied with the boy that she hadn’t even noticed four people were approaching her from the back until now. Her first instinct was to shield the kids, but when she looked back down, no one was standing there. _Where did they go?_ The uneasy feeling from earlier was returning in full force. So she ran. 

She was running down an incline while the sleazy men yelled at her to stop, as if she would listen. She didn’t recognize her surroundings. All the cobblestone paths had started to look the same after a while. _Fountain...I need to get to a fountain, I know I saw one around here_ . She sought out sources of water and found one just a few steps away. She quickly made a left and found herself...in an alley? _What? There must be a shower or something on the other side of this wall, but what good is that going to do me?_ The men were right behind her so she backed up all the way to the wall at the alley’s end and grabbed at the air around her for water vapor. _Stupid hot nation! There’s only enough vapor to freeze one of them to the wall, and not enough at all to make a whip. I’ll have to go with icicles._

“Stay back!”

“Yeah, okay. What’s your fancy water gonna do to us, huh?”

She hurtled a shower of icicles at them, but the men all ducked out of the way. The waterbender quickly changed the trajectory of the water so it would return to her, and with a shout, she made a shield of it in front of her just as one of the men lunged for her. He slammed into her ice wall and taking advantage of his confusion, she quickly pushed the shield forward and turned it sharply so that it froze the man to the wall. And there went all her water. As another man sprung forward, she clenched her teeth and kicked him right in the chest. He stumbled back but the other two caught him and kept advancing towards her. Not for the first time, Katara wished she had taken Suki up on her offer to learn self-defense when she had visited Kyoshi Island. She really didn’t want to have to bloodbend them, but she started to twist her fingers...

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, a green blur jumped in from the front of the alley and clobbered a guy in the back of his head. The green blur, she could now tell was a man, then decked another guy in the jaw and before he could fall, his skull was used to smash the last guy’s face into the wall behind him. The newcomer was now looking at her, after having made short work of the three guys and tying them up with a rope they had been carrying around.

“I had it under control,” she grumbled under her breath, but she was secretly thankful to the green-clad man for saving her from bloodbending.

“Hey, are you alright? Why would you back yourself into an alley?”

“I’m fine, thank you for your help, and _obviously_ I didn’t mean to. I thought I was heading for a fountain but...I’m kinda new to the area.”

“Oh. I, uh, it was no big deal.” They stared at each other for a few moments before Katara started to make her way out of the alley. “If you want, I could, um, help you get familiar? You know, with the town.” The man seemed surprised that those words had passed his lips, but it was too late to take it back.

“Sure!”

He jerked his head in shock at the fact that she had said yes so quickly. Katara didn’t really have a reason not to trust this man yet and having a tour guide (and protector, she thought with some disdain) sounded great. It didn’t hurt that he was definitely handsome, even with shaggy hair covering a good portion of his face. She wasn’t shallow by any means, but...Jet was a pretty good indicator of how her heart and head worked together.

“So you’re from the Earth Kingdom? What’s your name?”

“Um, yeah. I’m Lee.”

She noticed a jump in his heart rate, but what reason could he have to lie about his name? She marked it up to the adrenaline of beating up three men and stepped closer to him.

“Well then, Lee. I’m...Kya.”

 _Okay, I guess sometimes people lie about their name, but I have a reason! I could possibly be in danger if random people find out I’m going to be royalty eventually. Even if he is lying about his name, big deal. What’s the harm, right?_ From closer up, Katara could also see that his eyes were golden. Strange for Earth Kingdom people, but certainly not impossible. They started walking out of the alley and up the slope she had run down earlier.

“So you’re a non-bender?”

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, you didn’t use earth to fight anyone back there. You used your hands.”

“Good point. You’re right.” Another jump in his heart rate, but again, it wasn’t like she was feeling very calm either, what with having been very nearly assaulted.

“That’s cool. My brother’s a non-bender too but he’s easily one of the most powerful people I know.”

“Are you far away from family?

“Huh? Why do you ask?”

“No, it just sounded like you missed your brother.”

“Oh. You’re right. I’m living here right now, but my family is in the Water Tribes. What about you? You’re wearing green but walking around Caldera City. And how did you know to find me anyway?”

“I heard someone shouting so I came. And...yes. My family’s far away as well.”

“So why are you in the Fire Nation?”

“I... have things to do here. Why are you in the Fire Nation?”

“I also have things to do here,” she said somewhat smugly.

“Hmm. Over there’s the fountain you were probably looking for.”

“Oh. Yeah. Totally went the wrong direction, huh?”

“Yes, you did.”

“Well, that reminds me, can we actually head that way? There were these two starved kids and if I can find them again, I need to help them.” He nodded with a thoughtful look and they switched directions.

They walked for a while, Lee pointing out the different shops and stops, and Katara, instead of studying the roads and sights around her, studied the profile of her new friend’s face. A long slanting nose, narrow gold eyes, thin eyebrows, shoulder-length tousled hair…

“I wanna touch your hair.”

“I would rather you didn’t.”

“Fine,” she hmphed, crossing her arms petulantly.

His eyebrow raised.

“What? I’m a little nosy, but I can respect boundaries!”

The corner of his lip twitched. “I’m glad. On your left, there’s the apothecary, next to it’s the tea shop, and right over here is the weapons shop.”

“That’s risky. It’s very easy for the medicinal herbs meant for the apothecary to go to the tea shop. Wouldn’t that be a mess!”

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She was quickly learning that his little gestures said the most. She laughed at his worried expression.

“Lighten up Lee, you look like you’ve never laughed a day in your life! Have you ever even heard a joke?”

“I’ve heard a few. I wouldn’t exactly call yours funny.”

For some reason, this made her laugh even harder. He turned to face her fully with a truly bemused expression. She swallowed the rest of her laughter and asked a question that had been bugging her for a few minutes.

“How come you don’t brush your hair?”

Lee reached up to pat his hair and run his hand through a few strands. No fair, she _really_ wanted to do that! “This is brushed, what are you talking about?”

“Why does it cover half your face then?”

At this, Lee’s face hardened and he faced forward. “Because.”

“Okay, don’t be too eloquent then. Boys are so touchy about their hair.”

He didn’t rise to the bait and they settled into silence for a few minutes.

“Over here’s the new orphanage!”

“Um. Okay?”

“Oh, sorry. I guess - I was just - I thought you might want to know.” He looked a little embarrassed.

“You know, for someone who’s not Fire Nation, you’re very excited about the different sights in this city.” She found it a little endearing how upbeat he sounded when pointing out the different buildings, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.

“I don’t know, I guess it’s interesting? It is my home.”

“Yeah, it is.” It was her home too, for now, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be as exuberant about the city’s layout.

“Well, now we’re in the market.”

“Finally! I am so hungry. Do you know any good places to eat?”

“Yes, actually. There’s this stall that sells the best noodles in all of Caldera City, but it’s all the way at the other end.”

“Hmm. If they really are the best, I suppose I can wait a bit.”

“They really are!” Again, there was that childlike happiness for a brief second and it strangely sent more warmth shooting through her body than any flame in this nation of fire had.

As they walked through the market, Katara overheard a few people talking about the Fire Lord and stopped in her tracks. She sidled up to the stall where two women were talking about him in not-so-hushed tones. Lee was at her side in a flash.

“The noodles are down there, why did you stop-”

“Shh!” She wanted to know what the general public thought of the person she would be marrying, and this was the perfect opportunity to find out. She tilted her head to hear the women’s conversation better.

“-Such a shame, truly. He would’ve been so handsome if not for the scar.”

“Indeed. Do you know what I heard? Remember the Lady Mai who was betrothed to him? Apparently, she left him because of how ugly he is.” Katara’s eyes widened. Mai didn’t seem like she was a vain person, but had she really gotten out of the marriage just because the Fire Lord was scarred? And what was this whole scar business about anyway?

“Ah, poor girl. You can’t ask anyone to marry into that family, it’s a curse.”

“True, true. Especially after what happened to the sweet Lady Ur-”

“Shut up! Are you looking for an audience with the Fire Lord? Stupid woman.” The lady looked up just as she finished scolding her friend and made eye contact with Katara. The waterbender quickly busied herself with the trinket she had been pretending to admire until the two gossipers walked away. _What a waste of time! They gave me no useful information._ She turned to tell Lee they could go to the noodle stall now, but nearly yelled when she saw the look of pure malice on his face.

“Why did you stop to listen to them?”

“I just- I wanted to know more about the Fire Lord. I don’t know anything about him.”

“Why would you want to?”

“What do you mean? I’m new to the area, and so I thought I should know more about the person who rules over my new home. Is that a crime?” He stared at her with an inscrutable expression for a few, agonizing moments.

“Did you learn anything?”

“I mean, not really. Seems like they were just rumormongers,” she said uncertainly. “But I didn’t know he was scarred. Do you know anything about that?” Lee turned his face away from her at that.

“I know a thing or two.”

“Could you tell me?”

“Mind your business,” he spat. Her eyes widened and she took a step back. His personality had switched so quickly. Did he have some tension with the Fire Lord? Maybe Lee hated the monarch.

“Hey, no need to bark at me. It’s okay, I don’t like the Fire Lord either.” He looked back at her with narrowed eyes (eye? She could only see one, after all).

“You just said you didn’t know anything about him.”

“I said I should know more. And if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t even be in Caldera City.” His face twisted and he opened his mouth to say something before closing it. After a few seconds, he lunged forward to grab her wrist and she really did shriek now.

“Come on. We’re going to get your noodles and then we’ll part ways.” What had she said wrong? Lee had been so nice until the Fire Lord conversation had begun. _Stupid Fire Lord Zuko_ , she scowled, _ruining everything good without even showing up_. She twisted her arm out of his grasp.

“You don’t have to drag me around. I’m coming willingly; it’s not like I have anyone else to help me find my way around.” Lee grunted and kept walking. She frowned when he didn’t point out a single building on their way to the noodle stall.

* * *

While they ate their noodles, which were indeed the best she had ever tasted, she kept sneaking glances at her tour guide. His hair was still parted in the middle to cover half his face and the other half looked extremely stern. She had the strangest idea that if she tapped his cheekbone, she would be touching rock. Lee met her eyes as she thought this and blew on his noodles to cool them. She let a squeal escape her and stared at her noodles.

“Do you not like them?” She risked looking up at him to find that he no longer looked upset. _Wow, he really gives the term ‘mood swings’ a new meaning._

“No, they’re great. Thank you for bringing me here. And thank you again for paying for me. I’ll pay you back.”

“No worries.”

She sighed. Even this stilted conversation was preferable to silence. She wondered what Shao and Meira had gotten up to, and then thought of two other people she had left behind.

“I wonder what happened to those kids I met earlier. They looked so sad and scared. And they hadn’t eaten in so long.” Lee took a long sip of his water before speaking.

“Most likely, they will find their way to an orphanage or homeless shelter, and they will be fine.” At the frown on Katara’s face, he went on, tapping his fingers on the small table they had chosen to sit at. “Kya, they’re free. You don’t need identification or proof of anything. You just go in and they feed you, give you a place to sleep and clothes, and they’ll find work for you. Since they were kids, they’ll probably just be looked after and sent to school. The system works fairly well. And it was set up by the Fire Lord you hate so much.” Her eyebrows raised involuntarily at this. That _was_ a pretty good system. She wondered if the monarch was actually behind it or if he just took credit for it. And then Lee’s last sentence registered.

“Wait, you don’t hate him? But I thought…” she trailed off at the piercing look he was sending her way. “I shouldn’t have assumed. Never mind.” She couldn’t maintain eye contact with him anymore. He was turning out to be more of an enigma than she had anticipated.

“It’s...fine. It’s fine. Alright, you’ve eaten now, so I’ll be going.” He nodded at her awkwardly before standing up and pushing his chair in.

“Wait! I mean, could we- could we meet again? Sometime next week? That way you could show me more of the city and I can pay you back.” _Now, why would you say that, Katara? Idiot._

“Uh,” Lee started, rubbing the back of his neck, “sure. We can- we can do that. Can we do the middle of the week? I’m free then. And seriously, don’t worry about paying me back.”

“I don’t like taking favors. And the middle of the week is perfect.”

“Great. We can meet up at your fountain.”

“My fountain?” she asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Yeah. You know, the one you had been looking for but didn’t find. Or if that’s a stupid idea, we can-”

“No, that’s a good idea. K-Kya’s fountain it is,” she said, giving him a reassuring smile. He didn’t smile back, but he nodded again before walking away from her without a glance back. Katara let out a sigh. Had she made a friend at all? She hoped so.

* * *

She was back at the golden, towering statue that had separated her from her guards. Her eyebrows furrowed as she read the inscription that was written in the universal language.

 _Avatar Roku, the last Avatar from the Fire Nation._ There were more characters underneath that, but she couldn’t decipher them.

How typical. The Avatar was supposed to belong to the world, to all four nations, and here the Fire Nation was, trying to stake their claim over one of them. Didn’t Avatar Roku play some part in the Fifty Years War? Katara remembered her grandmother saying that if Avatar Roku had done his job and ended the Fifty Years War before it even started, Avatar Aang wouldn’t have died so tragically and the Avatar state would have been ongoing. She ground her teeth in frustration, trying to remember what else Gran-Gran had said about the Avatar, but nothing came to her. She’d have to use the palace’s library to learn more.

“Master Katara, there you are!”

“We are so, so sorry, Master Katara. We have been looking for you this whole time but you were nowhere to be found. Are you alright? Please forgive us.”

Shao and Meira had taken off their helmets, but they were still sweating and looked absolutely petrified. She felt a pang of sympathy for them. How many times had they been cruelly punished for things that weren’t their fault?

“Hey, Shao. Meira. Don’t worry about it. I’m totally fine, see?” She stretched her arms so they could see the lack of scratches or bruises. She decided not to tell them about the men who had tried to harass her, because, in the end, she had been fine. She didn’t tell them about Lee, either. “Honestly, it’s better that you guys weren’t there. No offense, you guys are great! But it was nice to not get any weird looks. Maybe, from here on out, we can promise to all meet up at this statue. I’ll be totally safe, I promise. I’m a fighter and a healer, so you really don’t have to worry.” Meira looked unconvinced but Shao breathed a sigh of relief.

“That sounds great, Master Katara.” His fellow guard shot him a look, but he didn’t notice it. Katara grinned.

“Thanks, you two. Shall we head back to the palace?”

* * *

That night, before Katara settled in for the inevitably restless night, she swung her feet over the ledge of her window and sat. Her feet brushed the grass outside her window and she laughed at the way it tickled. The night was cool and she relished the breeze in her hair and the half-moon shining down on her face. She looked up at Yue and hoped she would carry her message to Sokka somehow.

“Dear Sokka, I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for your birthday. Congratulations on turning twenty-one! I hope you got a letter from Suki. And Toph. And Aunt Wu! I’m sure Gran-Gran made you all the foods you love, and Dad gave you your new whalebone necklace today. I’m sure you look very grown-up. I think you would’ve been proud of how I spent my day. I was in the city the whole day, looking at shops and food. I also made a friend. I think. Not really sure. Oh, and you’ll never believe who I met two days ago. Jet! I know, right? He’s married to Mai and it is so, so weird. But nice-weird. Today, I saw these adorable siblings and they reminded me of us. You know you’re the best big brother in the world? I mean, right now, I’m in the home of a brother who murdered his younger sister, so I suppose anyone else would seem like an angel. But really, you’re so smart and funny and kind, even if you like to pretend you’re not. I wish you were here. I wish I told you more often how important you are to me. You probably already know, but still. Love you, Sokka. I’ll see you...soon. Soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mai x Jet woot woot! One of my favorite crack pairings and the first of MANY curveballs the Fire Nation will throw dear Katara's way.  
> We also got a peek at Katara's past. It's pretty much everything you need to know at this point, but much of it will be expanded upon as we move along. Let me know if you have any questions. (Also, I was outlining/timelining this story...and who was gonna tell me that Sozin had kids in his eighties? Wack. I'm fixing that in this story.)  
> YAY LEE! Alright, this was one of the first scenes I wrote for this story and a major catalyst for all of the events I have planned, so I really hope you guys liked it. Please, please let me know if you think Zuko's in character.  
> I feel like I wrote a hundred different emotions into one chapter, which was inevitable, seeing as how Katara is an incredibly complex character, but still. feedback (good or bad - beggars can't be choosers) is SO appreciated.  
> huge thanks to those of you who have left kudos and commented. thanks for reading!


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